Description
Frogger is a 1981 arcade game licensed for U.S.
distribution by Sega/Gremlin, and developed by
Konami. The game is regarded as a classic and was
very popular for its novel gameplay and theme. It is
one of the few classic arcade games whose gameplay
did not involve killing hordes of enemies.
The object of this game is to guide a frog to its
home. To do so, the player must get frogs to
successfully dodge cars and navigate a river full of
hazards. The skillful or lucky player may obtain
bonuses along the way.
The game starts with three or six frogs. The player
guides a frog which starts at the bottom of the
screen. The lower half of the screen contains a road
with motor vehicles, which in various versions
include cars, trucks, buses, taxis, and/or
motorcycles speeding along. The upper half of the
screen consists of a river with logs, alligators,
and turtles. The very top of the screen contains
five "frog homes"—the goal for each frog. Each level
is timed, so the player must act quickly to finish
each level before the time expires.
The only control the player has is navigating the
direction for the frog to hop with the joystick.
Each push in a direction causes the frog to hop once
in that direction. On the bottom half of the screen,
the player must successfully guide the frog between
opposing lanes of trucks, cars and other vehicles,
to avoid becoming roadkill.
The middle of the screen, after the road, contains a
median where the player must prepare to navigate the
river. By jumping on swiftly moving logs and the
backs of turtles, the player must attempt to guide
his frog safely to one of the empty "homes". The
player must avoid alligators, snakes and otters in
the river, but may catch bugs or escort a lady frog
for bonuses. When all five frogs are directed home,
the game progresses to the next, harder level.
Frogger is available as a standard upright or
cocktail cabinet. The controls consist solely of a
4-direction joystick used to guide the frog's jump
direction. The number of simultaneous players is
one, and the game has a maximum of two players.
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